Wisconsin Forensics Daily

Thursday Thing to Read: Parliamentary Debate

Today’s Thursday Thing comes from Michelle Tellock. Tellock formerly of Hortonville, is a current senior at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She is the president of the school’s Woodrow Wilson Debate Council, which she will be representing at the World Universities Debating Championships in Vancouver later this month. In the following article, she discusses parliamentary debate – a form of interscholastic debate unique to the college level – and her involvement in college debate.

We’ve mentioned Parliamentary debate once before. There are now three active Parliamentary debate programs in Wisconsin: Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, and Carthage College. Joining them next semester will be the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Because of all of this, WFD felt that it would be best to have an article relating to parliamentary debate. And so we have Michelle’s article:

Parliamentary and Proud: The Value of “Other” Forms of Debate

Like many other high school policy debaters, I swore that if I couldn’t/didn’t go to a college with policy debate, I wouldn’t debate at all. So I chose my school on the basis of academics, and I spent my first year here at Johns Hopkins exploring all that college has to offer – unique classes in Greek philosophy and neuroscience, extracurricular pursuits ranging from theatre to week-long canoe trips, and the experience of living in a big city far from home. I judged and coached some policy debate in the Baltimore Urban Debate League and back in Wisconsin when I was home on vacation, but something was constantly pulling at me – I yearned to be a debater again.

My sophomore year, I tried out for the Hopkins Woodrow Wilson Debate Council (hyperlink: http://www.hopkinsdebate.com/), which competes in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) (hyperlink: http://www.apdaweb.org/). Besides APDA, which is made up mostly of private schools on the East coast, the U.S. is also home to the National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA), which is made up mostly of schools in the southern, Midwestern, and western regions of the country. For the past three years, I have been a member of Hopkins’ entirely student-run team, and I am currently the team president.

Parliamentary debate (“parli”) is an any-topic, extemporaneous form of debate. It tends to stress both argumentation and rhetoric – a good mix of typical policy and LD styles. Logical analysis and quick thinking are paramount: there is no prep time, and no evidence is allowed. Still, the flow, rather than flowery rhetoric, is usually the basis for the decision at the end of the round. Patterned after the style of platform debate first made famous at Oxford, parli traditionally has two two-person teams square off in a simulation of a debate in a House of Parliament. The government (“gov”) team proposes a case, and the opposition (“opp”) team attempts to rebut with counter-arguments and refutation. You can see/hear examples on this website: http://www.parlidebate.com/

In contrast to LD and policy debate, a different resolution is debated in every round. In most cases on APDA, the government team is allowed to choose the case (In other leagues, including the National Parliamentary Debate Association and in the U.K., resolutions are assigned only 15 minutes before the round). The resolution can be political, economic, philosophical, humorous, or cultural in nature. My partner and I have run cases such as:

• “You’re an average American…you are going to die of cancer within thirty days. You have access to a magic potion that will cure your cancer but turn you into the biological equivalent of a werewolf. This House believes that you should take the potion.”
• “The U.S. should not deport 83-year old Elfriede Rinkel, who has been accused of being a concentration camp dog trainer during the Holocaust.”
• “IMF loans should not be contingent on structural improvements.”

Parli therefore puts an emphasis on a variety of skills: debaters must acquire a great breadth of knowledge, because basically any subject is considered “fair game” for a resolution (on APDA, there is an “average well-read college student” standard for what is acceptable). A working knowledge of all things political, economic, social, and philosophical is crucial to reach the highest levels of success. Moreover, parli is very audience-centered, so rhetorical skills are paramount. Humor and the ability to play to the audience’s emotions are both helpful. In general, parli is a mix of policy, LD, student congress, and extemp: technical debate skills and strategy from policy, logical argumentation from LD, the need to persuade an audience as in student congress, and the quick thinking and smooth delivery of extemp are all utilized in parliamentary debate.

Parliamentary debate touts itself as “an activity which is easily learned, extremely adaptable, and widely accessible…yet rigorous, intellectually demanding, and rewarding.” Personally, I have found that my involvement with parli has provided me with the chance to be deeply committed to debate once again (I travel nearly every weekend from September through April; travel consists of driving/flying to destinations across the country and around the world) while still allowing me to focus on academics and the rest of a typical college life (preparing for a parli tournament consists generally of having practice rounds and staying up-to-date on current events). I have made friends who will undoubtedly become some of the nation’s leaders: former APDA debaters have gone on to enter top tier law and graduate schools, earn prestigious fellowships, and be elected to office. More importantly, they are well-informed citizens who can converse just as easily about contemporary politics as the underlying philosophical groundings of current-day political decisions.

My point in writing this article is not to persuade you that parliamentary debate is a superior form of debate – I truly don’t believe that it is better or worse than any other form of debate when done well, and I’m still known on the circuit as a relatively quick-speaking multi-response former policy debater (old habits die hard). However, what I would like to suggest to you is that college is a great forum for you to try new forms of debate: parli, model UN, college Republicans vs. college Democrats – whatever. One thing that all debaters can agree upon is that debate teaches myriad skills that are crucial in today’s knowledge-driven economy. So long as one is willing to work hard, most any form of debate can enhance those vital skills in even the most accomplished high school debater.

Please, then, think about trying debate in college. For those seniors feverishly completing college applications, don’t cross off schools just because they don’t have your ideal form of debate (though many schools do offer fantastic scholarships for successful debaters willing to compete on their teams), because you may be surprised at how much you end up enjoying that previously-hated form of debate. Moreover, don’t underestimate the value of your high school debate experience when applying to colleges; as I review applicants here at Hopkins, I’ve found that high school debaters are able to more clearly convey their thoughts and opinions than other prospective students, and dedication to debate is a good predictor of success in a selective college that has demanding academics.

For those of you who are younger and beginning your college search process, be sure to ask about debate opportunities at your prospective schools; college debate can be a great way to travel to new places, meet new people, and hone skills that will be valuable in moving on to graduate or professional school or into the workforce. Don’t be discouraged if your dream school doesn’t have a debate team: many schools encourage students to form new student organizations and provide funding and advising to do so. For those of you staying in America’s Dairyland for college, be encouraged that Marquette University recently hosted a parliamentary debate tournament; there are lots of opportunities to stay involved in debate once you leave high school.

If any of WFD’s dedicated readers have questions about parliamentary debate or the experience of debating in college, I would be happy to answer them. Feel free to email me: michelletellock@jhu.edu.

Posted in Columns, News, Thursday Thing To Read |